The Prince's Nature
by Neko-Houkou
Summary: With Caliborn and the Condesce wreaking havoc and John nowhere to be found, Terezi, Kanaya, and Karkat need to become God-tier. And Dirk needs to decide if he's going to give the Knight of Blood a helping hand. Slight AU, pairs are RosexKanaya and implied DirkxKarkat. T for Homestuck.


Dedicated to all of you DirkKat shippers. I hope this gives you feels.

**EDIT**: Special thanks to **ellesra** for pointing out my gratuitous use of commas. I've been trying to break that habit for a long time but sometimes it creeps up without my noticing. I hope this is an improvement.

I do not own Homestuck. This is my last potential OTP, Hussie, please don't sink this ship.

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"Do it."

Terezi, Kanaya, Rose, Roxy, Dave, Jake and Dirk all stared at Karkat as though he had just started spouting in Latin. He didn't spare a glance at anyone save for Dirk. "What?" the Prince asked, noticing that he was the only one on the receiving end of the glare.

"You heard me, nooksniffer, or do you have too much earwax rolling around that fucking empty head of yours for what few brain cells you have to put two and two together? Is it interfering with your ability to be _not _ an utterly and completely incompetent moron? I told you to fucking kill me."

There was a beat of silence. Glances were exchanged as Karkat crossed his arms over his chest. He continued to stare down Dave's brother as he stood atop a questbed.

"No," Dirk replied.

Karkat was not pleased by the response, which was obvious in his deepening scowl. "Look, you insufferable prick, we've already wasted a fucking hour going around arguing about who was going to kill who. And was a really fucking incredible and productive hour it was! We spent most of it hearing about how everyone here is a cowardly piece of crap and nobody has enough spine to even give someone else a paper cut! Hearing about how everyone was so emotionally attached was like having to eat a mound of your earth sugar while watching the worst romcoms of all time! It was so fucking disgusting I thought I was going to hurl!"

Dirk just stared back behind his shades. The hypocrisy of the statement was blaringly obvious to everyone. Karkat cared just as much about his friends as anyone else. "Dude, I'm not killing you."

"We went through all of that trouble to have Echidna make us this questbed, and save _your_ friend's sorry asses! Since Terezi and Kanaya seem to be having issues with getting a volunteer, I'm going to move things the fuck along! Kill me!" He snapped, moving to stand at the edge of the bed, managing to tower over the young man.

Dirk looked up at him. Everyone still kept quiet as they waited to hear what the Strider would say. "No," he deadpanned.

"For fuck's sake, you don't even have to kill me directly! You can just pull out your shitty sword and slit my throat!" the troll suggested angrily.

Dirk's eyes widened behind his shades. "How the hell is that not killing you directly?" he asked indignantly, taking a step back from the troll towering over him. He cursed himself for showing such weakness. But seriously, who pissed in this guy's apple juice? They'd met up a few days ago and it had been non-stop aggression from the troll. But it was only towards _him_. Granted, he had a foul mouth with everyone else, but at least he would hold a conversation rather than start an argument with them.

Karkat rolled his eyes. "It's simple, fuckface. I would die from blood loss, not your shitty stab. I've already died once and I'm not eager to repeat it more slowly this time around. Be grateful I'm giving you an option to ease your fucking worthless conscious about killing me," he explained, sounding angry and condescending all at once.

"It's still the same thing, and I'm not doing it," Dirk stated, putting on a more determined look to get the point across.

"Yes, you are! We don't have time for this fucking stubbornness bullshit! Kan, Terezi, and I need to god-tier if we're going to stand a chance against the fucking cherub and his batshit juggalo minions!" Karkat was snarling at this point, and he walked off of the bed in order to get in Dirk's face. It was a challenge since Dirk was so much taller than him, but the anger puffing out his chest and straightening his spine seemed to help. "Kill me!"

As much as Dirk wanted to put some distance between them he stood his ground. "Dude, no, what the actual fuck is your problem?"

"My problem is that you're being a fucking nooksniffer. I've seen slimy wriggle-beasts less cowardly than you."

Finally, Terezi interrupted the exchange. "Karkat, what is wrong with you?"

Dave added, "Seriously, just chill the fuck out. Maybe we can still beat the cherub without having to kill you three like a bunch of sacrificial lambs."

"We don't stand a fucking chance! You need to kill me!" The second sentence was still directed at Dirk. Even when he had responded to Dave's comment he had refused to look away from the older Strider.

"Why the hell are you so insistent on having me do it?" Dirk snapped back, hoping to call the troll out on some sort of irrational bullshit and take the pressure off of him. Honestly, he didn't want to watch anyone else kill his three newest acquaintances. He figured at the very least Terezi would have fewer qualms about helping her friends, and Miss-Chainsaw-Kanaya would probably return the favor for the Libra.

Vantas stood on his toes to get just that little more in Dirk's personal bubble. "It has to be you. Do it," he hissed.

Jake frowned. "Chap, I think you should back off. Clearly Dirk wants no part of this!"

He was ignored by both males as Dirk took a step back. "Dude, your breath reeks," he lied in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"That is it! I'm sick of these fucking shenanigans!" The troll accessed his strife specibus and pulled out a pair of sickles.

Dirk pulled out his katana reflexively. "Do you honestly think you can trick me into stabbing you by mistake? That has to be one of the oldest tricks in the book."

"Whoa," Dave gasped, getting ready to freeze his best troll bro as he stared down his real Bro. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Rose?" he asked, looking over to see his ecto-sister shaking her head at him.

The Seer turned her attention back to the two males standing off. "Karkat's right. It has to happen this way," she whispered so that only he and Terezi could hear. Kanaya, Roxy, and Jake were too preoccupied with holding their breath and waiting with a sense of dread for the strife to begin.

"I see what you mean, now. Karkat finally made up his mind," Terezi whispered back.

Dave gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He absolutely did not want to watch his Bro and his troll bro go at each other, especially when Karkat wanted to commit fucking assisted suicide of all things. But both Seers were in agreement, and Dave knew if he tried anything it would only result in splintering the timeline and causing more deaths.

Karkat let out a roar of frustration, startling the inattentive trio. He lashed out at Dirk haphazardly. Yet it didn't look like the fight was going anywhere. Dirk would parry the blows and sidestep, being careful to keep his blade away from soft flesh. Actually, Karkat seemed to be treating it like a real strife and kept his distance from the sword of his own volition.

"Dirk, you need to kill me!" Karkat shouted between blows, the sound of steel on steel doing nothing to cover the cry.

"I don't understand, why does it have to be me?" Dirk shouted in response. Karkat swung his sickle a little too far and left an opening. Dirk rushed in and shoved him down a short incline, which were common in the center of Lofaf. However, he had neglected the troll's reflexes. The other scythe caught on his princely pyjamas and pulled him down as well. As they tumbled they continued the tussle.

As they finally came to a halt at the bottom of the slope, Karkat released both of his weapons. The troll flipped them so that he was straddling the other male. Dirk still had a hold on his sword when the troll grabbed the collar of his hoodie and yanked him up. "You're the Prince of Heart. Do you understand?" Karkat hissed while everyone else gathered at the top of the incline to see what was happening. The troll was purposefully quiet, a highly unusual occurrence to be savored, so that the conversation could remain private.

"It's a destructive class. That doesn't mean I need to kill you," Dirk responded, grabbing the troll's wrist with his free hand. He tried in vain to loosen the grip.

In retaliation, Karkat let Dirk fall back slightly before yanking him forward again in a jarring shake. "Yes, you fucking sludge for brains. You destroy Heart or you destroy through Heart! Don't you fucking get it? You need to be the one to kill me!" He whisper-shouted the explanation, literally getting nose to nose with the Strider.

As Dirk stared up at those angry eyes, it finally clicked into place. Why Dirk had been singled out for the previous tongue-lashings, why Karkat would trust him and only him to kill him so that he could reach his full potential.

He let go of his sword and shoved as hard as he could, sending the troll flying backwards. The Cancer was stunned for only a moment before sitting up and resuming his normal volume with, "Of all the fucking bullshit if you aren't fucking interested-"

"Fine," Dirk snapped, interrupting the troll.

"What?" Karkat replied, not quite sure what he had heard.

"You heard me, I said fine!" Resentment was clear in his tone as he picked up his sword once more.

Karkat frowned, confusion furrowing his brow. "What the fuck does that mean?" he asked, standing. Why could Striders never be straightforward?

"It means you have ten goddamn seconds to get on that quested before I change my mind!" It was Dirk's turn to snarl. Everyone atop the slope flinched, not expecting the outburst.

Karkat wasted no time in scrambling back up the incline, rushing past his crowd of friends. Dirk followed at a more leisurely pace. Guilt and reluctance slowed his steps. He refused to even give his friends so much as a sideways glance as he approached the spot where Karkat was standing on the questbed. "Lie down," the Prince commanded.

"How the fuck are you going to slit my throat easily if-"

Karkat was cut off for a second time. "I never said I was going to slit your throat. Now lie the fuck down," he snapped.

The Knight stared up at Dirk as he complied. Dirk opened his mouth again, but instead of issuing another order he made a soft request. "Close your eyes," he muttered, making sure no one else would hear.

Karkat stared at him for another moment. Dirk knew he was trying to offer some sort of reassurance, just as Dirk was trying to offer his own by not forcing the troll to watch as he was stabbed. When both of them were certain of each other Karkat closed his eyes and relaxed. His arms were casually thrown over his stomach.

The location of the appendages wouldn't affect the strike. Dirk took a deep breath and flipped his katana downward. The tip of the blade was pointed directly over the center of the troll's chest. Dirk briefly wondered if the troll's heart was slightly off to the side like a human's. He watched as the chest he was about to pierce rose and fell a little too quickly to be perfectly calm. He knew his own chest was mimicking the motion.

He plunged the blade down as hard and fast as he could before he gave in to the panic welling up and stealing his breath. Karkat didn't open his eyes, but he did cough up some blood before going completely still.

Dirk barely had time to pull out the blade before the transformation started. He watched as Karkat was revived with some new duds that strongly resembled his brother's, save for the mark of Blood in the center of his chest.

Dirk looked away as Karkat examined his chest. Kanaya and Dave looked a little shaken. Everyone else seemed to have a mixture of relief and excitement on their faces.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned back to see Karkat staring at him with bright, lively eyes. The hand dropped away and neither said anything as Terezi went about convincing Roxy to give her and Kanaya a hand. Dave looked away as well, catching on to what Rose and Terezi had been talking about earlier. Jake watched the Knight and Prince, as clueless as ever.

Dirk, his back to everyone else, looked at Karkat over the tops of his shades. Karkat stared right back with the beginnings of a red glow just starting to tint his eyes. There would be a lot of uncertainty between them. Not only because Dirk had killed him, but because there would now be the possibility of him hurting Karkat in other ways.

But Karkat, in wanting to become a god-tier, had indicated that he was beginning to accept his nature. Dirk had done his best to deny it, but the troll who had once been in his shoes was now forcing him to come to turn with his own traits. He had beheaded both the Hegemonic Brute and himself, not to mention he had a penchant for self-sabotage when it came to his relationships. It was far past time to face the root aspect of his very being that had caused his actions.

Karkat rejoined the group, offering to help Kanaya, the troll who probably should have been his Moirail, become a god-tier Sylph of Space. As he watched the exchange Dirk knew that accepting his nature as a Prince of Heart did not mean he had to be ruled by it.


End file.
